Cutting groove under countertop

[gerti]

I have a solid oak countertop, overhanging a little more than an inch. I need to cut a square groove underneath, about 5/8" wide and 1/8" deep, roughly centered in the overlap. This will be for a downward facing strip of LEDs

Removing the countertop for the operation is impractical.

Not enough room for an upside-down router. Sideways maybe, but that doesn't give me a lot of surface to run the router on, and I have no idea what type of bit could be used safely for this.

A plow plane might do it, but modern ones all seem to have the adjustments happening on the plane and would not fit. I have seen a photo of an old one where the adjustment happens on the fence. That would work, but no idea where to get such a beast.

How would you cut this?

Thanks

Gerd

[RAV2]

Cheap trim router from Harbor Freight???

[LCHIEN]

I'd giver consideration to a horizontal slot cutting bit like these:

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/bt_slot.html

Look at #7668 1/4" wide and 3/8" deep.
You can change the bearing to one 1/4" larger in diameter to limit the depth to 1/8" although it seems even 1/4" deep would be OK for your application.

This means you hold the router body horizontal and the base plate of the router will ride on the outside edge of your countertop. Change the router bit depth and make multiple passes to get the width you want.

I'd look strongly into a making a jig to ride the counter to keep it straight and level as you will be working sort of upside down and sideways from normal router usage. Like a vertical fence attached to your baseplate, it could also set the depth of cut, instea d of a bearing. Sort of depends on how thick and whether you have a nice square edge or one that been beveled or rounded over.

Perhaps a rabbet bit instead of a slot cutter might work OK. http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shops...it_rabbet.html
its also bearing guided.

[atgcpaul]

Probably similar to what Loring suggested. Is there a drawer directly under the countertop? Can you remove the drawer? Is there a faceframe?

I'd attach an auxiliary base to the router base so it rides on the faceframe and the countertop edge--this also assumes your countertop edge is parallel to your cabinet front. Otherwise, just ride on the face frame.



Paul

[All Thumbs]

Have you tried suspending lights near that spot and seeing how it looks at night? A raking light in that spot may highlight cabinet finish issues, and eventually grime that would otherwise be unnoticeable.

[trungdok]

For 1/8" deep, I would just use a chisel. Quick work -- unless you're running hundreds of feet of lighting.

[jAngiel]

Maybe a multitool to cut the outside edges then chisel out the middle.

[capncarl]

My suggestion would be to experiment with a buscuit cutter. They will cut close to the surface, about as deep as you need. The blade is a little bitty circular saw blade. They are small and easy to handle. The ends that it would not cut because could be wallered out with the multi-tool.
capncarl

[gerti]

Thanks everybody!

All good ideas. A router sideways, possibly using some jig, will probably the solution I'll use.

BTW the light is not intended to be on permanently. This is a not well lit area of the kitchen, and the light is for the drawers under the counter. The light will be controlled by micro switches on the drawers, so that they'll come on when a drawer is opened.

[atgcpaul]

Thanks everybody!
BTW the light is not intended to be on permanently. This is a not well lit area of the kitchen, and the light is for the drawers under the counter. The light will be controlled by micro switches on the drawers, so that they'll come on when a drawer is opened.

Sounds cool. Hope you post pics when you finish it.

Are your drawer fronts inset then? I have face frames and the drawer fronts extend beyond the frame. The top drawer would obscure the light for the drawers below.

[gerti]

The cabinets are frameless. Ikea stuff I put in a few years ago. I would have liked to build from scratch, but just did not have the time, an the Ikea kitchen stuff is pretty well designed and has decent hardware (Blum).

It'll probably take me some time before I get to this but I will post photos.

Thanks again everybody!

[tfischer]

Thanks everybody!
BTW the light is not intended to be on permanently. This is a not well lit area of the kitchen, and the light is for the drawers under the counter. The light will be controlled by micro switches on the drawers, so that they'll come on when a drawer is opened.

Sounds cool, but I kind of wonder if you'd be happier overall just fixing the lighting problem in the kitchen. When we moved here our kitchen was like a tomb. I immediately installed track lighting which helped immensely, but was still very shadowy. Last year we did a total "down to the studs" kitchen remodel... the new kitchen has tons of light, mostly LED, and it's much, much nicer to work in.

[gerti]

Normally I'd agree with you, Tim. The kitchen itself has great light, almost all of it LED. The under-cabinet lighting around the sink is even controlled by brightness and motion sensors. The drawers in question are under the far side of the peninsula (outside the kitchen) and see unexpected frequent use. Adding over-head light to that location would clash with the already existing overhead light just inches away. That light is perfectly located for the peninsula an the drawers on the other side.

Hence the somewhat odd location for the light.

[capncarl]

Have you seen the clear plastic channel that is built to hold rope light? It may work until you replace the cabinets. I used them under the counters on my houseboat.
capncarl

[LCHIEN]

I have a question. You say this is a countertop so it is typically below the viewing height of anybody but the littlest kids and midgets.

Why recess the lights at all? If the thickness is only 1/8" then just glue it to the bottom of the counter edge and be done. A small jig can help put it at a consistent distance from the edge. Or perhaps put a 1/4 x 1/8" wood strip to the underside of the counter and use it to butt the light strip to if you want to hide the edge of the light strip. Should be much easier than routing a channel.